Sandcastles
by skyleaf
Summary: Sandcastles are a chance to begin again, for when they are washed down by the waves, there is always a chance to rebuild.


Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh © Kazuki Takahashi.

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Anzu liked sandcastles.

There was a feeling you get when you build them. The feeling of molding the sand between your fingers, of the perfect particles- once separate, now whole and together.

In the form of an unique and one-of-a-kind sandcastle crafted by her hands. It's something few people appreciate, but then again, Anzu did take joy in the finer, more delicate points of life.

Of course, half the time, the sandcastles didn't stand long. They were always knocked down by the thundering waves. It's a pity but it's a chance to begin anew. Which was why currently she was sitting next to Mokuba, feet sprawled in the sand, constructing a sandcastle.

The little boy seemed eager to build, his hands never resting and his eyes bright with happiness darting back and forth as if to take in everything that was happening around him.

Anzu smiled. She was like this her first time too. Although she didn't mind the way Mokuba studied her hands, she was acutely aware of two eyes burning into her back. She turned around, as if to appear to study something on the other side of the shore, and her eyes darted to study the man behind her.

Seto Kaiba looked out of place, sitting on a multicolored lounge chair while fully clad in a trench-coat, sporting both a laptop and a cell phone. He was typing and talking at the same time which made Anzu wonder how he was able to glare at her every 2 minutes without losing track of his conversation.

She brushed it off and turned back to Mokuba, giving him a bright smile when she realized he had almost finished his castle. And, to tell you the truth, it looked stunning for a first try.

"How's this, Anzu?" He asked, his uncertainty showing in his voice.

"Wonderful, Mokuba. Perfect for your first time. My first time, it turned out as a pile of goo that I tried to hold up with my shovel." She laughed. "Didn't work so well."

He smiled. "Really?"

"Is this the face of a liar?" she asked, giggling.

A snort came from behind her.

But, when Anzu whipped her head around, it seemed as though nothing happened. Pasting an exaggerated annoyed expression on her face, she threw a handful of sand in Seto's direction.

A sharp intake of breath and a hand that came to gingerly wipe away the sand from his face. He just stared at her.

"What's the matter, Kaiba? Is something wrong?"

"No, Mazaki. Nothing's wrong." A split second later, a pile of goo landed in her hair.

A gasp and another handful of sand clutched firmly in her hand.

"Oh, it's on."

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Sand was thrown, and water was splashed, and even sunscreen was sprayed mercilessly.

The end result leaving Mokuba in fits of laughter, although he was no better off than either Anzu or Seto.

Seto's brown hair was matted down and coated in sunscreen while his trench-coast was nearly recognizable. His shirt had come loose from his belt and his eyes were sparkling with something that hasn't been there for a long time.

Anzu's polka dotted bikini was covered with clumps of sand and she had the grains in places where she didn't even want to think of right now. Her brunette tresses were glued to her face and there were little particles of sand entwined in her hair.

A sigh. Then a giggle. Then full out laughing.

"And what, pray tell is so amusing, Mazaki?"

"Oh, I dunno. It might be the fact that you look like you walked out of a horror movie, or the fact that you participated in the act of making you look like you walked out of a horror movie. Either way, I think I have the perfectly sane right to be amused."

A lopsided grin tilted her face.

The corners of Kaiba's lip twitched upwards.

"Well spoken."

Their gazes locked, neither one wanting to look away. Each perfectly content with staring at the person. If someone would have told them that 1 year from the affair with Atem, they would be on a beach after a sand fight, staring into each other's eyes- they would have punched the person, looked at each other then turn away running to the bathroom to vomit.

But this was happening and neither of them felt the urge to vomit.

The mood was broken when Mokuba came up to them and gave a distraught cry of how his sandcastle was ruined by the waves.

Anzu just smiled at the boy.

"That's okay, Mokuba. 'Cause the thing about sandcastles is that we get to another chance to begin again."


End file.
